


Feline comfort

by ChibiAhiru



Series: A Feline Secret [2]
Category: James Bond (Craig movies)
Genre: Cat Ears, Cuddling & Snuggling, Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Insecurity, M/M, Past Child Abuse, Shapeshifting, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-22
Updated: 2018-09-22
Packaged: 2019-07-15 17:11:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16067603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChibiAhiru/pseuds/ChibiAhiru
Summary: After discovering Q's secret James is working on getting the Boffin to trust him.





	Feline comfort

**Author's Note:**

> Not Beta read.

The following weeks after 'the incident' which is what James likes to call the day he first saw Q shift. James made a point to show up in Q-Branch more often to talk to Q. 

Today James was walking into Q-Branch with a box of fresh eclairs form his favourite bakery and hot drinks for himself and Q. He knows that Q has been working non-stop lately to support 008 on his mission in Cuba. The mission had resulted in some unexpected turns which required the Boffin to find a way to sort it out. 

As James approached the Quartermaster he found him immersed in the text and numbers moving quickly along the computer-screen. Q was tapping away at the keyboard not noticing as James came to stand behind him. It had taken the Boffin a few weeks to accepted the new routine but as James continued to show up in Q-branch with food and fresh baked goods the young man was unable to say no for long. 

With a smirk he opened the box he was carrying and moved it closer to the young man. Q stopped abruptly to inhale the sweet sent of the baked goods, green eyes turning to focus on the sweets. But before he was able to get his hands on one James closed the box and walked over to the Quartermasters office knowing the young man would soon follow. 

While he waited for Q to join him he set the box down on the desk with the two drinks, tea for Q and coffee for him. He secured one eclair for himself leaving the rest in box for Q. As he was setting up, James contemplated how far they had come since that fateful day a few weeks ago. 

After doing some more research on Shifters and their needs James has found that in order for a Shifter to stay healthy they should shift for at least 1 hour bi-weekly. Prolonged time without shifting could have devastating results. Such as Shifters shifting unconsciously; partly or fully, something which can lead to accidents with far reaching consequences.

James read an example of a taxi driver who had shifted unexpectedly in his car and the car had continued on driving, hitting pedestrians along the way. Other examples where of Shifter getting stuck in their second form unable to change back at will, one record showed a woman who had been stuck for 2 years after suddenly shifting during a stage performance. 

There were also cases of the reverse, where shifters had decided to stay in their second form for too long and once they changed back some animal traits, physical or behavioural wouldn't disappear. 

The thought of Q shifting when he is guiding an agent out of a dangerous situations sent shivers down the agents spine. Thus he had decided that he would ensure it wouldn't happen, he was actually quite surprised it hadn't happened yet. 

Therefore these meeting started taking place. James wanted to make sure Q had a safe environment to shift in because James had noted that if he wasn't given a nudge the Boffin would avoid shifting at all costs. James has realised that the young man struggled with not only a fear of shifting but also a lack of acceptance for his second nature. 

Before James could think any further on the matter the young man opened the door to the small office, he walked over to the desk and took a seat in the desk chair opposite James. 

“Busy day?” James asked casually but the only answer he got was a hum of appreciation as the Boffin stuffed an eclair in his mouth. James found if very surprising how much food the skinny man could put away when prompted. The young man would often skip meals or forget to eat while working, hence James started to bring food to the office as well as sweet treats which are a favourite of the Boffin. 

After inhaling 3 eclairs the Quartermaster stopped to gulp down some of the tea which had cooled down to perfect drinking temperature. Licking some chocolate off his bottom lip Q finally answered. 

“Yes, on top of managing 008's mission I needed to hack into the security system of 004's target and I needed to extract 009 from a terrorist hideout after his cover was blown.” Q gulped down some more tea before continuing “He was almost caught but was able to make it to the extraction point just in time”

“Good job Q” James praised and watched as a blush crept up the young mans neck. “It was nothing” the Boffin dismissed. 

At a slower pace the Boffin continued to eat the two remaining eclairs while finishing his tea. James also ate his eclair with his coffee, when done they threw away the box and cups. 

Q fidgeted nervously with his long sleeved jumper. He had been terrified of what would happen after James saw him shift. Terrified of what the man would do with the knowledge, Q was skittish for days. However he soon found that the double-o agent wasn't interested in making fun of him or holding the information over the Boffins head. No James has so far been very supportive and kind, something the young man is unfamiliar with. 

People in his past have not reacted positively to finding out he was a shifter. He grew up in a small village where few shifter lived and the towns people in general didn't approve of shifters thinking they are abnormal and strange.

Q grew up with his mother and father, they lived just outside the small village. Up until his tenth birthday he had lived as any other child in the town. Already showing signs of being a promising student he was a favourite among the teachers at school and already a target for schoolyard bullies. 

His parents loved him and they lived happily. 

That all changed when he one morning woke up with cat ears on his head. When he runs to his father for help he is not meet with the reaction he expected. 

His father stares at him for a long while before yelling for his mother to come into the living-room. When she sees him he remember her face going white before she and his father got into the worst fight he has ever witnessed. Loose items were flying and harsh words were traded, Q ran to hide in his room but he could still hear when the front door opened and slammed shut. He later ventured down to find his mother sobbing on the stairs. 

When she spotted him, he stopped in his tracks. She wasn't looking at him the same way she had yesterday when he went to bed. The cold eyes narrowed in on him, he felt the ears on top of his head move and his mother focused on the movement. Her face morphed into anger and she quickly got up and in a few steps she was towering over him, yelling at him that this was all his fault. His father had left because Q was a freak shifter she yelled while taking hold of his ear and pulling at it hard. 

After that day Q's life wasn't the same, his father came back but only to pack his things and then he never saw him again. Q continued to live with his mother but she hated him for what he had done to her marriage. 

She started to neglected him and abused him whenever he shifted accidentally. Without support and guidance it took him a long time to gain control over the shift. He wasn't met with much support in school either, the children took great pleasure in hunting the “pussy cat” and the teachers didn't care. 

“Q?” the younger man was brought out of his memories by James. He looked up at the double-o agent. 

“What are you thinking about?” James asked. 

“N - Nothing” Q tried to avoid the question but James wouldn't let it slide. The agent walked around the desk to stand in-front of Q. He tilted his head up by placing a finger under his chin. Q looked up at the agent, green eyes swimming with unshed tears and wobbling bottom lip. 

“It's okay, no one is going to hurt you again” James whispered as he moved his hand through the younger mans thick hair. Q blinked and tears rolled down his cheeks. The next moment Q had shifted and in his stead sat a dark brown skinny legged feline. The cat stood slightly on his hind legs stretching his front paws towards the agent. 

James picked the cat up into his arms and moved to the couch and sat down, petting Q as he went. Q nuzzled into his stomach and closed his eyes. James sat with Q for almost 30 min before the man suddenly turned back into his human form. He had never done so while still being in James' lap so the extra weight surprised him slightly. 

Q shyly looked up at James through his fringe like asking if this was okay without words. James tightened his arms around the young man and lightly kissed his temple. A rose coloured blush spread arccos Q's cheeks and he tried to hid it by nuzzling his face agains James's neck and shoulder. 

The silence in the office was broken by Q's low voice. “My mother and father divorced when I was 10 because I was a shifter” after a short pause he continued “I lived with my mother after that, she blamed me for ruining her marriage”. 

While James had several questions he wanted to ask, he settled for a simple “Why?”. 

“Because I shifted, my father found out that my mother had cheated on him” James had never heard anything so absurd. That had nothing to do with Q and everything to do with his mother. Before James could comment however Q continued to talk. 

“She stopped being my mother that day” Q said, voice was thick with emotion as he continued to tell James about the abuse he had endured at his mothers hands. For years he suffered without anyone he could rely on for support or help. 

By the end of it Q was trying to stifle his sobs into James's shoulder as he clung to the agent. James let the young man vent his emotions, something which had been oppressed for far too long in James opinion. 

Soon Q's sobs quieted down to sniffles and he regained some of his composure. 

As he realised what he was doing he moved to get up, James however wouldn't let him and tightened his arms around the young man. 

“Why are you being so nice to me?” Q asked sounding defeated. “What do you want from me?” 

James was a bit taken aback by the questions, so far the Boffin had quietly accepted his company and support but it seemed that the young man couldn't believe that James would do this without expecting something in return. The agent hadn't really thought deeply as to _why_ he felt the need to ensure that the young man was alright but he concluded that answering truthfully would be the best approach. 

“I just want to make sure you are okay and are taken care of” he explained to Q. Q sat up straight in his lap turning to look at James eyes narrowed. 

“You don't need to take care of me, I have been doing just fine on my own” Q defended. Realising he would need to tread carefully around the defensive Boffin James continued to explain. 

“I know you can take care of yourself, I just want you to know that if you want me to I will be here for you” 

Q didn't look very convinced “What do you expect me to want from you?” James pressed. 

Q never thought the agent would confront him like this. He knows that the double-o agent has a reputation to bed anyone he is in close contact with but he wasn't yet 100% sure if that also included males. The amount of physical contact between them had increased dramatically after James found out he was a shifter but Q had a difficult time categorizing them. Where they flirty? Friendly? Sensual? Familiar? He wasn't sure. 

His insecurities didn't help matters much either, he had a hard time truly believing that someone as handsome and kind as James would be interested in someone as skinny, awkward and strange as him.  
Or maybe James had some fetich for shifters and was hoping Q would put out if he buttered him up well enough. 

Q squirmed in James' lap and fiddled with his shirt sleeve as he tried to conway his thoughts to the agent. 

“I- I thought you might want something physical” the Boffin finally confessed, refusing to look anywhere near James. As the silence stretched between them Q lost his nerve and tried to backtrack.  
“I mean, I am sure I must have misunderstood your intentions, of course you wouldn't be interested in me, I am nothing to look at and I am horrible at socializing and I am a shifter” the young man babbled on. 

He was forced stop and look at James when the man gently tock hold of his chin and turned his head towards the agent. James meet his eyes and the intense stare was almost too much to handle for the shy Boffin. Entranced Q watched as the agent deliberately closed his eyes slowly opening them just as slowly. Q felt the sudden urge to mimic the action and did so without further thought. 

Once Q opened his eyes again the double-o agent was smiling at him gently. “If you are interested in anything physical with me I would gladly accept”. James told Q. “I know I have a reputation of sleeping around but that is only a persona for missions”

Q wasn't sure how to respond, he wants to get to know the agent better and in the future there is a possibility that their dynamic may change.

“I like what we have now” Q finally confessed shyly looking up at the agent through his tick lashes. “But I would like to get to know you better, if you would be interested” he finished quietly. 

“I would like that very much” James answered as he hugged the Boffin closer to him. Q melted into the hug and sighed in contentment. 

Their moment was interrupted by Q's phone going off requiring him to go and aid 004 as she had run into some more trouble with her mark. 

As James watched Q getting back into work-mode, easily assessing the situation and taking command over the comm, he couldn't help but reflect over how different Q acts while at work and when in private. 

As he left Q-Branch James thought that he will be enjoying finding out more about this brilliant young man.


End file.
